A Sioux Falls based pharmaceutical company has been awarded nearly $60 million by the Defense Department to ramp up its manufacturing capability for a therapeutic to treat COVID-19.
The additional $57.5 million brings the total amount of funding that SAB Biotherapeutics has received to nearly $130 million since the start of the pandemic. The money will be used to expand the company’s rapid response antibody program.
More: Sioux Falls company launches human trials for COVID-19 treatment
SAB Biotherapeutics is one of five companies that is developing a COVID-19 therapeutic under Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s effort to develop treatments for the disease. The other companies include Regeneron, Lilly, AstraZeneca and Merck. Some of those companies and others are also producing a vaccine.
SAB’s contribution to the effort is known as SAB-185, a polyclonal antibody that is produced using genetically modified cattle. That production platform can be used to make large volumes of antibody treatments for COVID-19 and other diseases.
“We are pleased to be awarded this additional contract scope, which we believe is a reflection of the compelling science that supports SAB-185’s potential in COVID-19, as well as the urgent need for treatment options amidst the global pandemic,” said SAB co-founder and President Eddie J. Sullivan in a release announcing the latest award.
SAB-185 is currently undergoing clinical trials to assess its safety and viability as a treatment for COVID-19. Melissa Ullerich, a company spokeswoman, said Monday that the final patient in the study had been dosed with SAB-185.
In lab settings, SAB-185 was found to neutralize two strains of the virus, known as the Munich and Washington strains. Pre-clinical data also showed it is more potent than convalescent plasma derived from humans.
The money was awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a joint program between the Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
SAB was already participating with the federal government in developing rapid response antibodies to various diseases before the coronavirus pandemic started. The pandemic has given the company a real-world problem to solve.
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